Hinge



Ad? 2, 193. F. s. CHRISMAN 2,111,843

HINGE Filed Aug. 14, 1934 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

iii

Patented Mar. 22, 1938 UNITED HINGE Frank S. Chrisinan, South Bend, Ind.

Application August 14,

1 Claim.

connection with drop leaf extension tables wherein extension leaves arehingedly connected to the table top. To obtain uniformity of finish the top and extension leaves must be finished at the same time, but the leaves must then be removed for shipping purposes. The table is then reassembled before being placed on sale or used, and effective reassembly is commonly attended with considerable difficulty.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a hinge for connecting parts of an article of furniture in a manner to permit easy disassembly and subsequent reassembly of the parts.

A further object is to provide a hinge with an elongated opening and a recess whose, center co-- incides with the axis of said opening for receiving a screw head, to effectively look a screwa mounting part in operative relation to a hingemounting part.

A further object is to provide a hinge having an elongated opening therein including an enlarged portion permitting passage of the head of a screw therethrough and a depression for receiving the screw head to prevent relative movement of said hinge and screw.

A further object is to provide a hinge for pivotally connecting two members which includes a hinge plate normally held against movement relative to its connected member by a screw and having an opening therein configured topermit disconnection of said hin e plate and its connected member by loosening of said screw.

With the above and other objects as will be apparent from the following description in view, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, claimed, and shown in the drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of an extension leaf table employing my improved hinge.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the hinge.

1934, Serial Ne. 739,795

Figure 3 is a fragmentary planview of one plate of the hinge.

' Figure 4 is a sectional view of the hinge and a connected member taken on line 44 of Fig ure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Figure 3 and illustrating the manner in which the hinge and its connected part are separated.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified form of the hinge.

Referring to the drawing, wherein the hinge is illustrated as connecting an extension leaf to the top of a table, the numeral ll! designates a table frame which is supported by table legs I! and which mounts a table top l2.

a screw l6 passing therethrough and into table top I2 to fixedly secure said hinge plate E5 tothe table top. To hinge plate !5 is pivotally connected, in the manner well understood in the art, a

second hinge plate I].

vided with one or more apertures l8 whose walls Hinge plate I? is proextend parallel to the axis thereof. A counterbore or aperture having countersunk walls is which opens into aperture 18 is formed in hinge plate I? and provides a small dimension opening 20 communicating with aperture l8.

ters of aperture i8 and counterbore 19 are spaced apart a distance less than the diameter and greater than the radius of either. A screw 2! provided with a bevelled head 22 of a size smaller than opening it extends through each reduced dimension opening 20 and into extension leaf I4 with its bevelled head 22 seating into counter bore l9.

In the assembly of the table preparatory to finishing, and particularly in connecting extension leaf It to table top l2 by means of hinge M, the screws 2! are applied in operative relation to effectively secure hinge plate H to the extension leaf It by seating heads 22 thereof in the ccunterbores l9, as illustrated in Figure 4. In this position the screw serves to tightly press the hinge plate against the extension leaf, andalso to prevent relative lateral or sliding movement of the hinge plate and extension leaf by virtue of the locking relation between the screw head and counterbore l9, which counterbore, as best preferably so positioned aperture 18 for only a thereof, say one-quar- Thus an inwardly di- An extension leaf The cenrected shoulder is formed between counterbore I9 and opening I8 at each side of opening 20, which shoulders prevent relative lateral or sliding movement between the screw and the hinge plate. After the table has been finished and is ready for shipping, screws 2I are loosened as illustrated in Figure to withdraw screw heads 22 from counterbores I9. Extension leaf I3 and screws 2| carried thereby may then be laterally shifted to bring the screw heads 22 into registration with openings I8 through which said heads may pass as illustrated in Figure 5 to permit complete detachment of the extension leaf from the table top. When it is desired to reassemble the table, the heads 22 of screws 2I are inserted through hinge plate openings I8 and the extension leaf is then laterally shifted to position the shanks of the screws in the end of the reduced dimension openings 20. Tightening of the screws 2I again seats heads 22 in counterbores I9 to effectively secure the parts together in operative relation.

A modified form of the hinge is illustrated in Figure 6, wherein the hinge plate I? is provided with one or more counterbores or recesses 25, and with an elongated opening or slot 26 open at a bounding edge of the plate and extending to a position within the outline of each recess 25. The slot 26 is preferably straight, and, if there are more than one thereof, the same are positioned whereby all adjacent points thereof are equidistantly spaced throughout the length thereof. The slots 26 extend from recesses 25 in the direction of the outer end edge of said plate, the same being here illustrated as extending parallel to each other and in angular relation to the pivot axis of the hinge. In this construction the recesses 25 form seats to fixedly receive the screw head 22, which, when withdrawn or released from said recess, permits relative movement of the hinge and the member (leaf I3) connected to plate I"! guided by openings 26 to entirely disconnect the screws 2|. and leaf I3, from the hinge.

It will thus be seen that this hinge permits easy and quick disassembly and reassembly of hinged parts, and does not require the complete removal of screws in the disassembling, so that the objectionable insecure screw connection resulting from reinsertion of a screw in an opening from which it has previously been removed is eliminated. Likewise it will be seen that the screws retained in the extension leaf or disconnected part after disassembly serve as guides which facilitate accurate operative replacement and reconnection of the parts. Thus, after a table shipped with the parts disassembled, to minimize the size of shipping packages or crates required and to minimize the danger of breakage during shipping, the consignee is able to quickly and properly assemble the parts, the separated connecting means (hinge and screws) being operatively positioned and carried by the parts of the table to be reconnected or reassembled, to facilitate and simplify the reassembly.

Reference throughout this specification to the use of the hinge in connection with extension leaf tables or other articles of furniture is entirely for purposes of illustration, inasmuch as the hinge may be used for the same purposes and in the same manner as any conventional hinge.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed as new and useful is:-

A hinge including a plate adapted to be secured in place by screws having round shanks and frustoconically shaped heads and the screws in fixed positions, said plate having two pairs of spaced apertures therethrough with the apertures of each pair in communication with each other, one of said apertures of each pair having straight walls, the other apertures of each pair being countersunk and having their greatest diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the straight wall apertures, the countersunk wall of the countersunk apertures at one side thereof intersecting arcuately the walls of the straight wall apertures, thereby forming oppositely disposed V-shaped shoulders, the bottom of the countersunk apertiues being of the same width as the distance between the V-shaped shoulders and longitudinally elongated and adapted to receive the shanks of the screws when axially moved through the straight wall apertures of the plate and to assume an axial position in relation to the countersunk apertures when laterally moved, said frustoconically shaped heads of the screws cooperating with the frustoconically shaped apertures when tightened, whereby the plate is laterally moved to a predetermined position with the screws axially disposed in the frustoconically shaped apertures.

FRANK S. CHRISMAN. 

